Nike keeps wages low, rather than driving them up in the context of the local economy. For only a few pennies more, Nike could pay the workers a much fairer wage, and if American consumers were only willing to pay a bit more, the overall economic health of the developing world might be improved. Also, by using the developed world as a source of cheap labor, no local industry and entrepreneurship is stimulated -- local industries cannot compete against Nike, and Nike essentially uses the developing nation as a colonial outpost, rather than makes a contribution to the nation's economic progress by building its infrastructure like a local company might be able to do. Rather than cultivating relationships with businessmen abroad in the developed world, Nike instead exploits the developed world as a source of profit and stifles local businesses.
U.S. labor union, would add that Nike takes jobs away from American workers by outsourcing labor abroad. Again, for only pennies more a day the mega-company could employ American workers. Furthermore, even if the labor organization did not directly represent international workers, it would be filled with a sense of outrage that basic labor standards were being violated, such as the fact that workers in the chemical section of the factory were not provided with enough protective gear,...
It gives people some work, and thus some hope, and will hopefully provide an economic foundation for a developing country's future. Nike's presence will also establish deep and hopefully economically fruitful ties that would not otherwise exist between a poor foreign nation and a major $9 billion dollar company. Unsafe working conditions, forced wages and long hours are endemic to the developing world, as in the nation individuals must often endure unsanitary conditions simply to live. Nike's code of conduct, even if imperfectly followed is better than some of the ethical and social carelessness of native corporations, and Nike's example can provide an example to home-grown entrepreneurs in the future. Finally, the national attention garnered by Nike and the scrutiny it provokes acts as a safety 'guardian' itself which quite often the government is unable to provide, given the financially strapped nature of the nation. Local businesses who abuse their workers might simply 'pass' beneath the radar.
